New fire chief starts job

Share via e-mail

James McDonald recently began his tenure as the city’s new fire chief. McDonald, who was selected in November by Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy, was sworn in on Jan. 22 at a City Hall ceremony. The 18th person to lead the department in its 163-year history, McDonald succeeds Dennis Carmody, who retired after 30 years with the department, the last three as chief. McDonald is a 36-year veteran of the department. He rose through the ranks from firefighter to lieutenant, captain, district chief, and deputy chief prior to his recent promotion. “It feels very good for the mayor to have placed her confidence in me,” McDonald said in a prepared statement. “I’m an operations guy. I’ve always prided myself at being good out on the street. I never really had the motivation to move into the administrative part of the job, but once I became a district chief and then a deputy chief, I got a feel for it and thought I could do it if the opportunity arises.”